You can curse the dead or pray for them, but don't expect them to do a thing for you. They're far too interested in watching us, to see what in heaven's name we will do next.

Growing food was the first activity that gave us enough prosperity to stay in one place, form complex social groups, tell our stories, and build our cities.

Wherever I am, let me never forget to distinguish want from need

The most assiduous task of parenting is to divine the difference between boundaries and bondage.

Does a man become a revolutionary out of the belief he's entitled to joy rather than submission?

Plants do everything animals do, but slowly. They migrate, communicate, deceive, stalk their food and, with an ostentation of styles and perfumes to put the animal kingdom to shame, they make love. It's just that catching them in flagrante delicto might require time-lapse photography.

I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.